


Mercury 27

by tinglingworld



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: DWFicExchange, F/F, the tardis talks some sense into the doctor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-17 21:56:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19963846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinglingworld/pseuds/tinglingworld
Summary: "You know- it is awfully impractical to be conscient yet unable to communicate with words. Granted, Doctor, you usually do understand me very well still, but no words mean I can’t yell at you when you do stupid things."





	Mercury 27

**Author's Note:**

  * For [theinterstellartimetraveller](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theinterstellartimetraveller/gifts).



„You know- it is awfully impractical to be conscient yet unable to communicate with words. Granted, Doctor, you usually do understand me very well still, but no words mean I can’t yell at you when you do stupid things and decide to ignore my attempts of calling you out by turning off lights and locking doors. It is infuriating this habit of yours to ignore me and go run off to do the stupid thing! But now I have words and you’ll have to listen to me and I am finally able to yell at you and what I wanted to say for ages now is: Stop avoiding the blaring signal from Mercury 27!”

The Doctor merely stared at the woman in front of her, for once completely lost for words. She had just dropped off the gang back in Sheffield after a short yet very wet and almost deadly trip to 17th century Lancashire and when taking off hadn’t paid much attention to where she was going. She had half-heartedly aimed for deep space just to take a deep breath after that last adventure which had kept her thinking for longer than she liked to admit. Also she swore she could still feel algae between her shoulder blades. This though, was definitely not deep space and instead very much a planet. She wasn’t quite sure which since as soon as she had landed the TARDIS’s screens and controls had all gone black and from the depths of its hallways that woman had appeared. Dressed in Victorian dresses, brown curls falling down to her waist she had been lecturing her for the past 10 minutes.

“Idris?”, the Doctor eventually asked unbelieving.

“Yes! Well- kind of. I wasn’t really Idris last time either, was I? But I like the name well enough. Anyway, did you even listen to me?”

“Yes- yes, of course. Mercury 27. How is this possible?”

She pulled the Sonic from her coat pocket and scanned the not so mysterious mystery woman up and down. The readings made no sense. She circled her and kept scanning but to no avail.

“Are you done now? Can we talk about Mercury 27 now?”

There was impatience in Idris’ voice and the look on her face very much resembled that of an exasperated parent.

The Doctor however didn’t care and not only because she decidedly didn’t want to talk about Mercury 27 but because the mystery in front of her was just so much more interesting.

“How are you here? I mean-“ she looked around the dark control room, “How are you corporeal? Where’d you _get_ that body? Wait- it’s to do with the planet we’re on, right? Where’d you bring us? I didn’t pay much attention where we were going, so you decided, right? And you decided on this planet. So which one is it? And why does it make it possible for you to be here?”

Idris sighed heavily, running a hand through her hair. She should have known that’d she’d have to explain before getting an explanation from the Doctor. After all she’d known her long enough.

“If I explain, will we talk about Mercury 27?”

The Doctor bit her lip. She _really_ didn’t want to talk about Mercury 27, but every ounce of her wanted to solve the puzzle in front of her, so after a lot of lip biting and a little bit of fiddling with the Sonic (this body was so fidgety! She didn’t remember having to fidget while thinking in all of her other bodies), she finally relented.

“Fine! Talk! But no- wait! Walk and talk, I wanna know where we are!”

She headed for the doors and walked out into a field. It had some sort of crops growing, currently blooming bright blue. The sky was a light lavender color and it smelled- like the 34th century. At least her nose was back to it’s old abilities.

She spun around to face Idris again who was shaking her head, still with that look of an exasperated parent but carefully stepped next to her.

“We’re on Alpha Ogatron 34th century. I picked up an atmospheric signal that looked like it’d enable my matrix to safely leave the console.”

“And have you pick a body of your liking? Wait-“

The Doctor stepped closer to Idris and reached out to touch her shoulder but her hand went right through her.

“You’re not really here. I mean, you are but this body isn’t. It’s just conjured from your memory. That’s fascinating! What species would be able to make that possible? It can’t be something inherent to the planet. Its inhabitants have to have changed the atmosphere accordingly. It’s-“

“Yes, fascinating. I explained, now it’s your turn.”

“Not until I find out how they managed to do that.”

“Doctor! I brought you all the way here to be able to yell at you and force you to answer and you still won’t. It’s infuriating! You’re infuriating!”

“Yes but you’re my TARDIS, you know how I am! And also you love me, right? So let’s go find out what is creating this atmosphere!”

The Doctor stalked off through the field and all Idris had left to do was heave another deep sigh and follow her. Once she caught up she proposed another plan:

“How about, we go find out what changes the atmosphere and talk about your absolute refusal to address your feelings and fears while we’re doing that.”

“Hmpf.”

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“I’m not refusing to address my feelings. I just- decide not to.”

“That is exactly what refusal means.”

“What, are you a dictionary now?”

“Doctor!”

“Fine!”

She stopped and spun around to face Idris for a second, before stalking off again and faster than before. Idris hurried to follow her.

“Go ahead, tell me about Mercury 27.”

“It’s Clara.”

There was a split second in which the Doctor paused before continuing forward.

“I knew that.”

“I know- It’s why you keep ignoring me!”

“Well- it’s not working too well anymore.”

“I know- that is the whole point!”

“You seriously just brought me here to yell at me, didn’t you?”

The Doctor stopped once again but this time she really faced Idris and her features had fallen as she’d asked that question.

“I- no- well, yes. But- I’m tired of seeing you lonely.”

“I’m not lonely- there’s Ryan and Yaz and Graham.”

“Who you insist on dropping off the instant you saved the day. You’ve never kept your friends at a distance like that.”

“I like to keep them save. And you’re one to talk, you never liked them.”

“Ryan keeps eating your cookies and then leaving crumbles all around. Everywhere! I swear there’s crumbles in every room he’s entered. I had to start locking doors.”

Idris knew she was being defensive, but the guy was a danger to her pristine interior. She liked to keep the rooms, and the spaces where more rooms could spawn, clean. Was that too much to ask?

“You kept trying to shut Graham out!”

“He- well yeah.”

“Not even an explanation?”  
“Well- I don’t like him.”

“That’s what I said!”

“Fine. Okay.”

Idris took a deep breath. She wanted to help the Doctor, not argue with her. Well- not only at least. She had to admit it was rather nice to be able to argue without her being able to pretend she simply didn’t understand the various console beeps.

“I am very glad you found those three and they have been rather nice most of the time. I understand you need people around you. Donna wasn’t wrong there.”

“Don’t. Don’t mention her.”

Idris stepped closer to the Doctor, reaching out to gently lay a hand on her shoulder. She wasn’t technically corporeal, but she figured it was the thought that counted.

“That signal from Mercury 27 has been there for weeks and you keep ignoring it. It’s Clara and she’s calling out to you. She’s been sending out a signal only to be picked up by my specific matrix and you know!”

“If you so insist on me following that signal why’d you bring me here to yell at me when you could’ve brought me directly to her?”

Idris caught the Doctor’s sparkling gaze and her face softened.

“I didn’t want to do that until you’re ready.”  
There was silence between them for a moment when the Doctor merely held her gaze.

“I love you, you know that,” she eventually said slowly, “you’ve been everything I have for so long. Saved me so many times, always been at my side.”

Idris smiled widely.

“I know, Doctor.”

The Doctor nodded before speaking again.

“Why then do you insist on finding Clara?”

“Because you love her, too, you ancient idiot!” Idris burst out but had the courtesy to at least look guilty for that outburst.

“I mean,” she continued more gentle, “you have had so many companions and I know you loved all of them- in one way or another. There’s no way back to Donna, or Rose, or Bill. But there is to Clara! She’s out there! Against all odds. And she’s calling for you. She probably doesn’t even know you remember her.”

“Because I really shouldn’t! That was the whole point of it. I shouldn’t remember her and she should’ve been dead but I don’t know- with that last regeneration all the fog that had been clouding her memories has disappeared.”

“And you’re still here arguing with me instead of there talking to her!”

“Me talking to her could rip apart all of time and space.”

“Yeah, but it’s highly unlikely though, don’t you think. I mean, there’s been so many instances of ‘this could rip apart all of time and space’ and somehow it never happened. I’m gonna go on a stretch and say that maybe in that aspect you Timelords think to highly of yourselves and your importance to the survival of the universe.”

“You were created by us Timelords don’t you think it’s a little rude to say that?”

“We’re still standing in the middle of a field instead of travelling to Mercury 27.”

The Doctor sighed and rolled her eyes.  
“You know, YOU are infuriating too! I’m quite glad you don’t usually communicate in that many words.”

“Let me get you to Mercury 27 and I’ll be back to relative silence.”

“Relative being the key word here,” the Doctor mumbled but Idris had the feeling she had finally won the argument.

“Okay. Fine. Let’s go to Mercury 27.”

She turned around on her heel and marched off back to their Police Box. Idris followed her grinning widely.  


Once back inside the, still dark, console room they once again stood and faced each other and the Doctor’s features softened.

“You know, I actually loved being able to talk to you. It would have been so much nice though if you hadn’t pushed me to do something I don’t want to.”

“It’s for your own best.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“I loved being able to talk with you, too,” Idris then admitted.

“Maybe we can come back here some day?”

“Maybe.”

“You already know we can’t, do you? You know what’s causing the atmospheric change and that it’s temporary.”

Idris nodded.

“Experiment for new power sources gone wrong. They’ll probably have it fixed by tomorrow.”

The Doctor nodded slowly.

“It was an honour and a pleasure to be speaking to you, then.”

“It’s not really a Goodbye,” Idris reminded her and once again stepped closer.

“I know,” the Doctor smiled, “bring me to Clara, then.”

Idris nodded and with a last smile her body disappeared. Simultaneously the console starting powering up again, the warm orange glow returned to the room, the crystals were moving again rhythmically and with a gentle whirring they dematerialized and were back in the time vortex.

When they landed, the Doctor hesitated at the door, but only until an encouraging beep and a whir sounded. With a smile she eventually pushed the door open.

Mercury 27 was a human colony and the TARDIS had brought her into the middle of a town square. There was an everyday hustle around her and it took her a moment until she found what she was looking for. That 21st century Earth American diner most certainly didn’t originate on Mercury 27. However, it seemed to be open for business. Slowly and still not entirely sure this was a good idea the Doctor walked over to the door.

Upon entering a bell above the door registered her arrival. Memories suddenly rushed back. She had been here once before. When she was still a grey-haired Scotsman. She remembered the guitar and the song and her fingers moved almost of their own accord as if she were still playing. She had to shake herself out of it and finally stepped out of the doorway and towards the bar.

There was currently no one behind it and all of the booths were empty, too. She was the only customer for the moment.

There was a bell on the counter and Idris’s words still replaying in her head she rang it.

“Just a second!” came a voice from somewhere behind the kitchen door and a moment later the small brunette appeared.

Clara.

After all these years, after everything that happened, after being convinced she’d never see her again, there she was- just as beautiful and radiant as ever.

“Hey, what can I do for you?”

The Doctor bit her lip (again, a terrible habit of this body) and didn’t know what to say until Idris’s words came back to her. _She’s calling out to you_.

“I believe you’ve been calling for me,” she said slowly, unable to tear her gaze away from those gorgeous brown eyes. Eyes that were now expressing confusion.

“I haven’t. I think you might have the wrong person?”

The Doctor smiled. Idris was right, the universe wouldn’t be ripped apart if she allowed herself, just for once, to carefully open up her hands to maybe receive some happiness.

“My TARDIS has informed me otherwise,” she said, unable to keep the growing excitement out of her voice.

“Your-,” she broke off and her eyes widened impossibly when recognition set in.

“Doctor?!”

The Doctor nodded.

Clara’s mouth fell open before she caught herself and hurried around the counter to hurl herself into the Doctor’s arms. She returned the embrace happily and pulled her ever closer.

“Oh so you are a hugger this time around!” she laughed against her ear.

“Yeah. Still not ginger though.”

The pulled apart far enough to be able to look at each other.

“No. But you’re beautiful. I like the glow-up.” She grinned as her eyes travelled up and down the Doctor’s body.

“What was wrong with my previous self?”

“The eyebrows,” came the immediate response which made both of them laugh.

“I got your signal,” the Doctor then explained.

“I thought you didn’t remember me,” Clara responded. Her fingers where running through the Doctor’s hair and then over her cheeks.

“Old me didn’t. When I regenerated though- the memories came back.”

“And you came when I called.”

“Well, the TARDIS kind of gently shoved me towards you.”

“She brought you here against your will?”

“No, she brought me to a planet where an atmospheric shift made if possible for her to become somewhat corporeal so she yelled at me for half an hour why I kept ignoring your call and isolating myself from myself until I agreed for her to take me to you.”

“She- what?” Clara’s face was back to confusion which meant a lot considering what they’d been through together.

“Nevermind. I remember what you said to me in the cloisters and- and if us being in the same place doesn’t rip apart all of time and space- then… do you still mean that?”

Clara’s eyes softened impossibly.

“Yes. Yes I do.”

The Doctor smiled.

“Great, because I love you, too.”


End file.
